[Introduced January 20, 2000; referred to theCommittee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article ten, chapter five
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to definitions of terms used
in the public employees retirement act, "retroactive service."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:That section two, article ten, chapter five of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ACT.§5-10-2. Definitions.The following words and phrases as used in this article,
unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context,
have the following meanings:(1) "State" means the state of West Virginia;(2) "Retirement system" or "system" means the West Virginia
public employees retirement system created and established by this
article;(3) "Board of trustees" or "board" means the board of trustees
of the West Virginia public employees retirement system;(4) "Political subdivision" means the state of West Virginia,
a county, city or town in the state; a school corporation or
corporate unit; any separate corporation or instrumentality
established by one or more counties, cities or towns, as permitted
by law; any corporation or instrumentality supported in most part
by counties, cities or towns; any public corporation charged by law
with the performance of a governmental function and whose
jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more counties, cities or
towns: Provided, That any mental health agency participating in
the public employees retirement system before the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, is considered a
political subdivision solely for the purpose of permitting those
employees who are members of the public employees retirement system
to remain members and continue to participate in the retirement
system at their option after the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-seven;(5) "Participating public employer" means the state of West
Virginia, any board, commission, department, institution or
spending unit, and includes any agency created by rule of the supreme court of appeals having full-time employees, which for the
purposes of this article is considered a department of state
government; and any political subdivision in the state which has
elected to cover its employees, as defined in this article, under
the West Virginia public employees retirement system;(6) "Employee" means any person who serves regularly as an
officer or employee, full time, on a salary basis, whose tenure is
not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in the
service of, and whose compensation is payable, in whole or in part,
by any political subdivision, or an officer or employee whose
compensation is calculated on a daily basis and paid monthly or on
completion of assignment, including technicians and other personnel
employed by the West Virginia national guard whose compensation, in
whole or in part, is paid by the federal government: Provided,
That members of the state Legislature, the clerk of the House of
Delegates, the clerk of the state Senate, employees of the state
Legislature whose term of employment is otherwise classified as
temporary and who are employed to perform services required by the
Legislature for its regular sessions or during the interim between
regular sessions and who have been or are employed during regular
sessions or during the interim between regular sessions in seven
consecutive calendar years, as certified by the clerk of the house
in which the employee served, members of the legislative body of
any political subdivision and judges of the state court of claims are considered to be employees, anything contained in this article
to the contrary notwithstanding. In any case of doubt as to who is
an employee within the meaning of this article the board of
trustees shall decide the question;(7) "Member" means any person who is included in the
membership of the retirement system;(8) "Retirant" means any member who retires with an annuity
payable by the retirement system;(9) "Beneficiary" means any person, except a retirant, who is
entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other benefit
payable by the retirement system;(10) "Service" means personal service rendered to a
participating public employer by an employee, as defined in this
article, of a participating public employer;(11) "Prior service" means service rendered prior to the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, to the extent
credited a member as provided in this article;(12) "Contributing service" means service rendered by a member
within this state and for which the member made contributions to a
public retirement system account of this state, to the extent
credited him or her as provided by this article. This revised
definition is retroactive and applicable to the first day of April,
one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, and thereafter;(13) "Credited service" means the sum of a member's prior service credit and contributing service credit standing to his or
her credit as provided in this article;(14) "Compensation" means the remuneration paid a member by a
participating public employer for personal services rendered by him
or her to the participating public employer. In the event a
member's remuneration is not all paid in money, his or her
participating public employer shall fix the value of the portion of
his or her remuneration which is not paid in money;(15) "Final average salary" means either: (a) The average of
the highest annual compensation received by a member (including a
member of the Legislature who participates in the retirement system
in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or thereafter)
during any period of three consecutive years of his credited
service contained within his or her ten years of credited service
immediately preceding the date his or her employment with a
participating public employer last terminated; or (b) if he or she
has less than five years of credited service, the average of the
annual rate of compensation received by him or her during his or
her total years of credited service; and in determining the annual
compensation, under either (a) or (b) of this subdivision, of a
member of the Legislature who participates in the retirement system
as a member of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine
hundred seventy-one or in any year thereafter, his or her actual
legislative compensation (the total of all compensation paid under sections two, three, four and five, article two-a, chapter four of
this code) in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one or in
any year thereafter, plus any other compensation he or she receives
in any such year from any other participating public employer
including the state of West Virginia, without any multiple in
excess of one times his or her actual legislative compensation and
other compensation, shall be used: Provided, That "final average
salary" for any former member of the Legislature or for any member
of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred
seventy-one who, in either event, was a member of the Legislature
on the thirtieth day of November, one thousand nine hundred
sixty-eight, or the thirtieth day of November, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-nine, or the thirtieth day of November, one thousand
nine hundred seventy, or on the thirtieth day of November in any
one or more of those three years, and who participated in the
retirement system as a member of the Legislature in any one or more
of those years means: (i) Either (notwithstanding the provisions
of this subdivision preceding this proviso) one thousand five
hundred dollars multiplied by eight, plus the highest other
compensation the former member or member received in any one of the
three years from any other participating public employer including
the state of West Virginia; or (ii) "final average salary"
determined in accordance with (a) or (b) of this subdivision,
whichever computation shall produce the higher final average salary (and in determining the annual compensation under (ii) of this
proviso, the legislative compensation of the former member shall be
computed on the basis of one thousand five hundred dollars
multiplied by eight, and the legislative compensation of the member
shall be computed on the basis set forth in the provisions of this
subdivision immediately preceding this proviso or on the basis of
one thousand five hundred dollars multiplied by eight, whichever
computation as to the member produces the higher annual
compensation);(16) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts
deducted from the compensations of a member and credited to his or
her individual account in the members' deposit fund, together with
regular interest on the conributionscontributions;(17) "Regular interest" means the rate or rates of interest
per annum, compounded annually, as the board of trustees adopts
from time to time;(18) "Annuity" means an annual amount payable by the
retirement system throughout the life of a person. All annuities
shall be paid in equal monthly installments, using the upper cent
for any fraction of a cent;(19) "Annuity reserve" means the present value of all payments
to be made to a retirant or beneficiary of a retirant on account of
any annuity, computed upon the basis of such mortality and other
tables of experience, and regular interest, as the board of trustees adopts from time to time;(20) "Retirement" means a member's withdrawal from the employ
of a participating public employer with an annuity payable by the
retirement system; and(21) "Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value
computed upon the basis of such mortality table and regular
interest as the board of trustees adopts from time to time; and(22) "Retroactive service" means: (1) Service an employee was
entitled to, but which the employer has not withheld or paid for;
or (2) that service from the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-one, and the date an employer decides to become a
participating member of the public employees retirement system; or
(3) service prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-one, for which the employee is not entitled to prior
service at no cost in accordance with WVCSR §162-5-16.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.